Council housing query

[user13842]

When there is a council housing shortage, why do Council’s not manage those living in the homes they have better? For example, I know of someone who lives on their own in a 3-bed council house in my area as their children have now left home. I also know of a family of 4 (2 parents, 2 children) who are living in a small 2 bed council flat. I appreciate this won’t cater for everyone but why do Council’s not routinely check up on who they are housing in what and encourage swaps where appropriate so that everyone is housed according to their needs? Appreciate it isn’t as straightforward as all that but surely it would be relatively easy to create a system to flag suitable swaps when they came up based on regular checks on circumstances.

I also know of a couple who were in council housing for a couple of years despite suddenly earning a lot of money and was very surprised the Council didn’t do regular checks on this to identify those who could afford private renting and move them on for those in need.

"free housing" marked off on bingo card.

I actually just checked in the gov website and there is an income limit to apply so it’s is originally meant for those on lower incomes which makes sense - everyone deserves affordable housing. I actually do think if incomes increase significantly you shouldn’t have lifetime guarantee on the house and it should be reallocated to others but I can see the difficulty in admin side. I’m going to presume your daughter is on an income under a certain threshold too?

Read this and learn something

John Boughton (author of Municipal Dreams The Rise and Fall of Council Housing) on the welfarisation of council housing.
//www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/the-rise-and-fall-of-council-housing-56139
Inthe 1980s, residualisation may have been a partly unintended consequence of housing policies pursued with varying ideological intent
Since 2010, and more so since the return of single-party Conservative government in 2015, we’ve seen something further: welfarisation – ‘a conception of social housing as a very small, highly residualised sector catering only for the very poorest, and those with additional social “vulnerabilities”, on a short-term “ambulance” basis

My dad lived alone in a 3 bed council house for 15 years. He asked the council to assist in moving him to a council bungalow. They didn't help at all. He moved into a care home in April last year and the house is still empty, no new council tenants have moved in . So frustrating when there is a housing shortage .

But why are we defining tenants as vulnerable Its a bit patronizing for those of us that arent. That just .............rent.
There is a rather disturbing rhetoric and hierarchy that has developed here. There are even lavish awards ceremonies for "Housing Heroes" now so the people that work in it are seen as heroes while those that rent from them are seen as vulnerable

I suppose vulnerable in the sense that those in council house are vulnerable to being homeless or in inadequate housing if they are unable to afford access to the private sector? Not necessarily physically or mentally vulnerable if that’s what you mean.

There are definitely wider issues that need addressing - makes no sense to leave properties empty but appears from PPs it’s a common occurrence!

Thank you - just read the excerpt and it sounds really interesting. I absolutely get it doesn’t make sense to punish those who work hard and start to earn more but it also does seem a bit mad that you can earn over 100000 and still remain in subsided housing when there are such waitlists, seems punitive to others trying to get a house. I’m obviously not UK based hence my questions! Thanks for the recommendation!

I live in social housing. I am grateful beyond comprehension as life turned total cunt on me in spectacular ways.

I pay a pretty good amount each month ( myself), it goes up each year. I have invested a lot on things inside. I need stability so much now in my life. And so do others deserve this.

Not everyone is a blood sucking scab and the language in original post is another example of the sense that people who befell something horrible are not deserving of a home to call home.

The posts should be about how affordable housing is being invested in and provision of such going forward.

It should be about how the private rental sector needs managing so some people can comfortably live in that way without fear and exploitation.

So in this context vulnerable really means oppressed.

My tenancy gives me my home for the rest of my life. If I want to move I can, if I want to stay I can.

I understand other people need housing but that's not the tenants problem.

In my village we have 3 bedroom HA homes, most house the elderly or couples whose children have moved out. We have no bungalows or flats for them to move into. The tenants shouldn't have to leave their community where they have lived for years. If they built suitable homes for them they might move but the HA won't.

The nearest suitable housing is miles away. I won't leave my home either, I pay my rent and I care for this house just like it's my own.

The right to buy has meant there are few council houses. They should stop it,

Ended in Scotland in 2015.

Who the fuck would choose to give up a secure tenancy for an insecure one? so much crap comes out of people who think they're untouchable and the eternally thick who think SH is subsidised. I haven't even checked and I know it's already in there.

As it's an obvious goady thread. Have fun

@gamerchick I've been waiting for your comment

I know somebody who has a 3 bedroom house . SE London Zone 3
She sleeps downstairs and lives there alone (apart from a cat and dog)
Council have offered her priority on bidding for 1 bed properties but she won't have it.

A family of four in a two bed flat is the correct occupancy level, they wouldn’t get moved even if there was a bigger house available.

As somebody who works in social housing, I’d like to see it reformed i.e MPs living in social housing who can afford to buy on their salary retaining their council house or elderly people with lots of rooms retaining houses that often go to ruin instead of transferring into sheltered.

I was just picking up on the point that council houses aren’t free, lots of people pay rent for them. You don’t hear people say that private rents are free houses when tenants use housing benefit. It’s a common misconception though, I’ve seen it mentioned on here before. Honestly, I don’t know how they fully intended to use them to tackle inequality, but it was a very long time ago (maybe 1950s?) so whatever the intention was then has changed significantly over the years.

I don’t think anyone does not deserve a home. I just think if you are benefitting from government support with housing there should be an element of acceptance that the home you are provided may change as your circumstances do. This is the same as any government benefit. People would still have a home, just one suitable for their needs. It’s unlikely that person would be moving every couple of years, unlike what is possible in the private sector (as a PP has demonstrated), and they will always have a home if they are eligible.

It’s just about ensuring that those who do have access to social housing are in a property suitable for them at that time, which may mean a move somewhere along the way.

There absolutely is a need for more council housing but that’s not to say the current stock can’t be managed better too. There is also a need for better management of the private sector but that’s not going to solve the council housing crisis alone.

Depends if its a flat in a tower block If shes already sleeping downstairs she already has trouble getting upstairs. And when lifts break down HAs take ages to fix while "waiting for a part"

Tbf it's been a while I thought that shit had been beat out of people by now. Free indeedm

I see subsidised is in there as well.

I have a 3 floor, 4 bedroom housing association property.

When my kids have moved out I will be downsizing/doing a house swap, but only when I'm ready to.
I'll probably have to pay bedroom taxes for a period of time but will always have someone at home I think (disability)

I have good leverage for a swap though when the time comes.

A lot of the essential workers and delivery drivers that kept the country going during the lockdowns live in social housing, I remember saying in March 2020 that after Covid was over it would go back to the default setting of looking down on them Ive not been proved wrong. Next time (if there is one) they should lock down too.

Private rent is the bigger crisis in this country not council housing.
Exorbitant rents are being topped up by universal credit.

please can you explain, I’m not trying to be goady but someone on this thread said £800 is the rent for a council houses 3 bed and £1800 same size but private rent. How is the council house able to be more affordable for people if not subsidised, what makes it cheaper? I just want to understand fully